Voice of America
Date: March 09, 2020
By John Xie

FILE – Chiang Chi-chen, the newly elected chairman of Taiwan's main opposition Kuomintang Party (KMT), speaks during a news conference in Taipei, Taiwan, March 7, 2020.

Taiwan's main opposition party has elected a reform-minded chairman, which could mean the party will reconsider its longstanding support for closer ties with China.

The new chairman of the Nationalist Party, or Kuomintang (KMT), is Chiang Chi-chen, a 48-year-old lawmaker who pledged during his campaign to take a harder line against Beijing's influence.

The KMT lost both the presidential and parliamentary elections in a landslide defeat to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in January, largely because of its pro-China stance. After the election, many younger generation members within the more than 100-year-old political party pushed the KMT to chart a new path, which would likely result in a setback for Beijing's quest to gain control over the self-ruled island.    [FULL  STORY]